Reclaiming Sunday in Poland

Warsaw, November 27, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – Poland lawmakers voted last week to reclaim Sunday as a day of rest by phasing out Sunday shopping by 2020.

The bill, which was presented by trade unions, had the support of the ruling “Law and Justice” (PiS) party government. According to Nasz Dziennik (“Our Daily”), 254 delegates voted for the bill, 156 were against it, and 23 abstained. Relatively more left-wing parties as “Civil Platform” (PO), “Modern” and the “Union of European Democrats” opposed the bill.

The bill is expected to be passed by the Polish Senate and then signed into law by President Duda.

The country’s Catholic bishops have praised the move, but say it doesn’t go far enough.

Father Paweł Rytel-Andrianik, spokesman for the Polish Bishops Conference, saidwhile the law is a “step towards the recovery of Sundays free from work,” the bill overall remains “unsatisfactory.”

“The bishops underscore the need to restore Sunday to society as a day of rest and time of building family ties as well as strengthening social relationships,” he said, adding: “They point out also that Sunday rest cannot be a luxury for a chosen few but is an integral part of equal treatment for all employees. Therefore, there is an urgent need to make all Sundays free from work, just as is already the case in many European Union countries.